Відео

I appreciate the comment and interaction - good to know people are watching and paying attention! That is a fair assessment of Calvin's presentation of the doctrine, but I think often times we make God's role in election far too rigid because we believe it takes away our choice in the matter. Throughout Scripture we see God call people even before they were born, and yet consistently those people have the opportunity to chose this day who they will serve. We have the choice to actively live in rebellion to God, or live into His calling for our lives. We equally tend to see God as a diest God, or even a malevolent God suggesting that God does not have our best in mind, or that He is randomly choosing or dictating from on High who will live and who will parish. God's will will be done, but He has equally done so by being incredibly personal and interactive. We see this throughout Scripture as God pursues HIs people. There are then a few more things to consider, of which I touched on some in this video. First, what type of freedom does humanity have? Martin Luther considers this with Erassmus, which accumulates with his well known book, "Bondage of the Will." While God has made Himself known, Paul tells us that humanity has clearly rejected God and that we need someone to fight on our behalf and to die the death we deserved. Jesus then becomes the active agent that can take us from Adam to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Second, we have to reorient our thinking, of which I have preached on some in the past - that is the choice you are talking about is quite accurate, but the choice consigned and destined in Adam, destined to death. But, Christ, at just the right time, stepped in to offer the way, the truth, and the light. Finally, there are two perspectives to take. Calvin's argument is pretty rigid, and even hard to swallow at times, but He is arguing from God's perspective which includes God's attributes of both foreknowledge and predestination. Many Christians appreciate God's attribute of foreknowledge, but not predestination - or they have some caveat around the term which makes it something it is not presented to be in Scripture. The alternative perspective is the one you are presenting, or in a sense, our experience of God's action in this world. To which the Bible presents an ebb and flow of people walking apart from Christ, only for God to get their attention, and Christ is so attractive that what choice would we have - and like Jonah we would eventually realize just how beautiful He is. I completely understand your sentiment, and would encourage you to read "The Battle Over Free Will" that lead to "Bondage of the Will." They were pretty heavy, but very helpful for me in thinking about unconditional election (there is probably a lot more to say, but although Faith's beliefs lean towards Calvin's teachings through Westminster and the Heidelberg Catechism, we understand that others have taken an Armenien stance, to which I simply say we all agree that God has to act first).